My name is Maureen Thomson (if you're interested, you can read my bio here). I didn't set out to perform wedding ceremonies. Rather, the opportunity found me in the form of a dilapidated 100+ year old Victorian home in Denver, CO. When I purchased the house in 2001, I had no idea that it would be the gateway to an entirely new life adventure.

I had no idea why I felt compelled to buy this property. Who buys a house on a whim? It's not like it was a bracelet or a candy bar! But buy it I did and since it wasn't practical for me to live in it at the time, I began rehabbing it in a hurry, figuring I had to do something income-generating with it and fast--before the first mortgage payment came due!

While working on the house, I'd periodically have people coming to the door asking if I would marry them. (I was initially flattered until I realized that they didn't actually want to marry me; they wanted me to perform a ceremony for them!) Puzzled, I did some digging and learned that the previous owners had used the home as a Vegas-style wedding facility. Apparently, it was known as the place in the neighborhood to get hitched cheaply and quickly.

One thing lead to another. I finished scraping, painting, sanding, staining, refinishing, and renovating until the house was restored to its 1892 splendor.

Okay...now what?

Since this little gem seemed to be the unofficial small wedding capital of Denver, I decided to go with the flow and set it up as a facility in which to hold intimate weddings. Then a funny thing happened on the way to officiating notoriety. Couples would bring in their own judges or ministers to perform the ceremonies while I, perched out of sight at the top of my red carpeted staircase, would listen to the services and think..."Ewwww..." Each was the same cookie cutter and boring blah de blah, blah blah.

"I could do this better," thought I. And so I did.

With a background in coordinating special events and fundraising for the non-profit sector, I was adept at both writing and public speaking. And having been married a time or two myself, as well as marrying off two daughters, I definitely knew a thing or two about what makes a wedding memorable. So I obtained my credentials to legally marry couples and went to work. Except it didn't feel like work. It was fun!

Soon I was being approached by couples who weren't using the Victorian for their ceremony but wanted me to write and perform their ceremony anyway. "Sure," said I. I quit my day job. My weekends became filled with weddings. Many, many weddings.

By 2003 I was exhausted. Happy, fulfilled, but exhausted. So, I brought on another creative and passionate public speaker. I trained her in the Lyssabeth's method and my mentoring combined with her own unique personalty made for a dynamic addition to the Lyssabeth's team. A short while later, we were both booked solid, so I brought on another person and trained him. Then another. By 2004, getting pretty sick of the three hour round trip drive to perform ceremonies in Colorado Springs, I started a second site there and brought on a couple more talented individuals.

Then it hit me. Why stop there? I knew we had something very valuable to give to couples getting married. Couples who didn't want mention of God in their ceremony; couples who did but for some reason couldn't be married in a church; couples who wanted to elope but couldn't stand the thought of a courthouse wedding; gay and lesbian couples, already married couples who wanted to renew their vows. So many couples, so little of me to go around!

So we replicated our model over and over--carefully choosing only the most passionate, dedicated and fun (because what good is a wedding without smiles and laughter?) professionals.

I named the business after my two daughters (and oh yes, I'm supposed to point out here that Bethany is the older even though her name comes second. But "Bethalyssa Wedding Officiants" just sounds weird! And yes, they both swear that the other one is my favorite.)

In 2009, my husband, Jeremy, quit his full time job to officiate and to manage the business side of Lyssabeth's. He's the one you'll talk to about your contract and your payments. (He's also the one that will cyber-nag you if you don't pay your bill on time, so don't let that happen!)

I've since sold my beloved Victorian and moved both home and offices to Portland, Oregon. We currently provide officiating services throughout California, Colorado and Oregon, with more to come.

Any of my creative staff members would be honored and thrilled to work with you on your wedding ceremony. I am grateful for each and every one of them and would be happy to connect you with the officiant who best meets your needs.